A travel and lifestyle blogger sharing content on both domestic and international travel: Europe Solo Trip – Netherlands Edition. Targeted at first-time international travelers and those interested in how to spend their time at their destinations.
I’d love to recommend the Netherlands for everyone’s spring trip next year. It’s the perfect time when the cold eases, and buds start blooming all over the country. The Netherlands is an ideal spring destination, and I’ll be reporting on some popular parks where colorful tulips cover the fields – definitely worth capturing with a camera.
・Seasonal Highlight! See the Tulips at Keukenhof Park.
The most famous tulip destination in the Netherlands is Keukenhof Park, which celebrates its 75th anniversary this year. The park covers a total area of 32 hectares and features around 7 million flowers, mainly tulips, planted annually. It is open only during the spring season, offering visitors a spectacular view of colorful flower fields and windmills.
Keukenhof Park Stationsweg 166A, 2161 AM Lisse, Netherlands
The opening dates vary each year, so be sure to check the official website. In 2025, the park is scheduled to be open from March 20th to May 11th.
・How to get to Keukenhof Park
Tickets can be purchased from the official website or on-site at the park.
There is a direct bus to Keukenhof Park. After taking the metro and getting off at Europaplein Station (round trip €18.31), you can show the QR boarding pass you purchased online at the bus stop. The bus ride to the park takes about 40 minutes.
You can enjoy the scenery and feel like you’re on a fun excursion while riding the bus.
Unlike the day before, it’s a perfect sunny day! I’m excited to see the tulips.
・How to enjoy Keukenhof Gardens
Tickets can be purchased at the park’s ticket center, with the adult price being €16. Pets are also allowed.
The park is vast, so it’s easy to feel like you might get lost, but you can grab a pamphlet and stroll around. There are shops and restaurants where you can take a break, and plenty of benches throughout the park where you can sit and admire the tulips.
There are also optional tours, such as a boat ride along the canals surrounding the park, or renting a bicycle to explore the tulip fields outside the park.
Since the park gets very crowded, if you want to take photos at your own pace, I recommend renting a bicycle and visiting the colorful flower fields and tulip fields around the park.
Even though it was a weekday, there were still large crowds. On the way back, due to bus delays, I had to stand in line for over an hour.
・For a photogenic outfit in the park, I recommend wearing a white dress.
When you think of the Netherlands, tulips and windmills often come to mind, but surprisingly, there’s only one windmill in the park. Naturally, it draws a crowd, so when I take photos, I try to position myself in a way that hides people behind the tulips as much as possible.
On this day, the temperature was a warm 18°C with a low of 6°C. Although it was quite pleasant during the day, I changed into a white outfit to make the photos stand out even more.
When taking photos in the flower fields, the vibrant colors of the tulips really pop, so a white dress is perfect for platforms like Instagram. A classic combination is a white dress with a hat, shot from behind, where the flowers are the main focus, and the person adds a nice touch.
・Tulip Photo Gallery
The peak season for tulips in the park is typically from mid-April to early May, so it’s a great idea to plan your trip to the Netherlands or a tour around Europe during that time. Especially by early May, the weather tends to be warmer and more pleasant, making it an ideal time to visit.
At Keukenhof Park, you can also buy Miffy merchandise and other Dutch souvenirs.
However, be careful when bringing tulip bulbs from the Netherlands back to Japan! Many people may find beautiful tulip bulbs in the Netherlands and think, “I’d love to grow these at home in Japan!” But there are some important rules to keep in mind when bringing them into Japan.
First, the bulbs you purchase in the Netherlands will need to go through quarantine at a Japanese airport. You must have a “phytosanitary certificate” issued by the Dutch plant protection authority. Without this certificate, the bulbs might be confiscated and destroyed before entering Japan. Sometimes the certificate comes in a tag format, so double-check when purchasing and be sure to present it to the quarantine officer at the airport’s plant inspection counter. Since regulations can change, it’s a good idea to contact the plant quarantine office in advance to stay informed.
Make sure to follow the regulations of your country!
・Let’s plan your trip! What do you have in mind?
・Direct flights from Japan to the Netherlands with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines.
For travelers heading from Japan to the Netherlands, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, which offers direct flights, is the best option.
A direct flight from Kansai International Airport to Schiphol Airport takes around 12 hours and 15 minutes, while from Narita, it’s about 14 hours.
For example, after enjoying some sightseeing in Paris, you could consider touring Belgium and the Netherlands by taking the Thalys, a high-speed train. Thalys connects four European countries—France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany—so a return flight to Japan from Frankfurt, Germany, could be a great option. This way, you can easily explore four countries in one trip!
